Washing-machine.



PATENTED JULY 2, 1907. w. e. GHRYST. 1 WASHING MAGH'INE.

APPLICATION IILED SEPT. 11. 1905.

3 SHEETB-SHEET 1.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM G. GHRYST, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

WASHING-MACHINE.

lindrical drum to which is imparted an oscillating rotary movement in washing the clothes or other articles placed in said drum.

The primary object of the invention is to so construct I and arrange the operative parts of the machine as to sub-- ject the clothes or otherarticles which are placed in the drum to a regular action or agitation in forcing thewater through them, and in vsuch manner that the clothing will be thoroughly washed without becoming knotted or tangled. I

With this principal object in view the invention consists in an improved form of driving mechanism in combination with an improved construction of drum, the" latter having a series of ribs by which the clothes are rolled or agitated as the drum is revolved or rotated backward and forward.

I Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear, and the novel features specified and claimed. I

In the drawings, which form a part of this specificationz-Figure 1 is a side elevation of a washing machine constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through the machine. Fig. Sisatransverse sectional viewthrough the drum and casing or tub. Fig. 4 is a detail in elevation 3 5, of the driving pulleys and belt-shifting device. Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the brackets which support the ribs or flights which are arranged in the drum. Fig. 6 is a side elevation and sectional view, showing the construction of the ribs or flights and manner of securing the same to the ends of the drum. Fig. 7 is a detail sectio'na'l view of the adjustable support for the removable gearwheel. Fig. 8 is a' detail sectional view through the hub of the main spider, showing the connection of the shifting rod therewith.

Like letters and numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the views-of the drawings.

Though the machine is primarily intended for washing clothes it will be obvious that the machine could be used also for the purpose of dyeing clothes or other fabrics, inasmuch as the action of the drum on the clothes or fabric is such as to subject the latter perfectly to the full effect of the water or liquid.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the tub or casing, which is preferably cylindrical in shape and supported upon suitable legs a. At one side the tub or casing is provided with a sliding door a, by means of which 7 Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed September 11,1905. Serial No- 277.991-

"-m hereinafter described.

Patented July 2, 1907.

access may be had thereto, and in order to permit of a sliding movement of said door, hands a are secured to the tub, and are engaged by plates a on said door. Within the tubor casing, and'journaled in the ends thereof, is a revoluble drum B, which is also cylindrical in shape, and said .drum and tub are of such relative size as to leave a space between the same, as shown.

. The drum .is journaled in the casing by means of gudgeons b, attached to the ends thereof and bearing in bearing-boxes a let into the end walls of the tub or casing, one of said gudgeons being extended toreceive a,

gearwheel C, by which latter motion is imparted to the drum through the intervention of the driving mechan- The drum B is cylindrical, as stated, and is provided with 'ends or heads so as to form a closed receptacle to which access may be had by a door similar to that of the tub or casing, and in order that the water in the tub may enter said drum the latter is provided with holes b, hereinafter more particularly referred to. 'Located around the inner side of the drum is a continuous series of ribs or flights D, which are disposed longitudinally of the drum and are suitably spaced apart so as to engage the clothing and impart a rolling action thereto as the I drum is revolved. The holes through the body of the drum are located betweemthese ribs or flights, so that as the drum is revolved in the tub the water will be forced through the holes and directed in numerous fine streams upon the clothing. Each rib or flight consists of a longitudinal wooden strip d, resting against the iron hoops in, which encircle the body of the drum and provided at its outer edge with a metal wearing surface in the. form of a tube d, the latter being held in place by meansof rods or bolts 1 which extend through said tubes and through the heads of the drum and are secured by the usual nuts (see Fig. 6). In order that these rodsor bolts d? may serve to also hold the wooden strips ofthe ribs in place brackets e are provided (see Figs. 5 and 6), said brackets being secured to the heads of the drum and having companion flanges e e between which the aforesaid wooden strips are slid and held by the tubes bearing thereagainst. The brackets are extended to receive the ends of the tubes, and such extensions are apertured for the passage of the rods or bolts. 1 0 0 By this particular construction of rib the life and durability of the same is very greatly increased, and in the event any of them should become worn or any part required to be renewed such rib can be readily removed for the purpose. It is intended of course that the tube 10 5 be made of brass or galvanized metal so that it will not corrode and soihthe clothing or other articles placed in the drum, and as therod or bolt is inclosed entirely within the tube the former maybe of iron, although 1 would prefer that the same be also galvanized.

Though the tub and its rotatable improved drum could be used with any form of driving mechanism The gearwhcel C which is carried by the drum-B is inmesh with a pinion c on the driving-shaft C, the latter carrying fas usual, the fixed pulley c and loose t. pulleys .0 c at opposite sides thereof, and over these pulleys pass the belts g and g which are oppositely driven so as to turn the driving-shaft C in either direction, according to which belt is shifted on to the fixed pulley 0'. The mechanism for shifting the belts includes the improvements in the driving mechanism of the machine. Encircling the pulleys are a series of rings 71., which engage the opposite edges of the belts g and g and are adapted to be moved laterally so as to shift said belts on and off the fixed pulley. Said rings are connected at their upper portions to a rod '11, and at two intermediate portions to rods 11, the former having bearings in the standard F and bearing-box a while the latter are secured at their ends to spiders I which are loosely mounted on the driving-shaft C and also connected to the upper rod t'. To theouter spider is connected an operating rod J, which is slidable within the driving-shaft O and provided with a cross-head j which projects through opposite slots in said shaft 0 (see Figs. 2 and v4:) and into an annular recess i in the hub of the spider I (see Fig. 8). In this manner the ends of the cross-head rotate in'the hub with the shaft and as the cross-head and its rod are slidable in the shaft they are adapted to operate the spider.

Upon the outer end of the operating rod J is loosely.

mounted a sleeve j, to which is,conne'cted a lever M, the said lever being fulcrumed at its lower end in an arm f projecting outward from the standard F. At an intermediate point 'the lever M is connected by pin and slot to a pitman-rod N slidably supported in the standard F and connected to the outer portion of a gear-wh eel 0,}which latter is in mesh with-a pinion 0 connected bya short shaft 10 to a bevel-wheel P in mesh with bevel-pinions q q on the ends of opposite clutches Q and Q, the latter being mounted on a horizontal shaft R connected-to the gudgeon b of the drum so as to" rotate with said drum. Each clutch comprises the member having the bevel-pinion and a slidable member q, the latter revolving with the shaft and slidable thereon, be-

- ing held against the other clutch-member by means of nient when the drum is moved in one the expansion springs r, as shown. By this arrangedirection by the driving-pulley one of the clutches will operate to turn ,the bevel-gearwheel P while the teeth of the other clutch escape each other, and the shaft of said bevelgeai wheel being geared to the gearwhcel O the latter .will dperate the pitman and through the intervention of the lever M and shaft I will operate device to throw the belt 9 (Fig. 1) off the fixed pulley c, on to its loose pulley c and shift the belt 9 on to said fixed pulley, and this of course will result in the rotation of the drum being reversed and a consequent re- 1 said weights perform with the belt-shifter will operate 4 machine elements are all simple,

the belt-shifting.

verse movement of the bevel-gearwhcel P, which latter will, through the gearing hereinbefore mentioned, shift the belt-shifting mechanism to again reverse the motion of the machine. In this way the rotatable drum is given an oscillating rotary motion, that is, a certain number of revolutions in one direction and reversed to give the same number of revolutions in the other direction, the number of revolutions being determined by the size of the gearwheel O to which the pitman is connected, and in order to change the number of revolutions given to the drum. this gearwhcel is removable for the purpose of substituting therefor a larger or smaller one, as hereinafter set forth.

The operating mechanism for the belt-shifter moves the latter to a certain extent, and beyond this point said belt-shifting device is moved by means of the weight S, connected to the rod '5 by means of the lever S and link s. By means of this weight device the belts will be shifted on to the fixed pulley when the belt-shifting mechanism has moved them to a certain extent, and

this fimction when the beltshifter is' operated in either direction.

To provide for changing the size of gearwhcel O the .shaft 0 upon which it is mounted is slidably mounted in the supporting-arm f and clamped by a sleeve 0' and nut 0 the lower end 0 of the shaft being extended or flanged at opposite sides t6 fit in a corresponding recess, j, in the aforesaid arm. The gearwheel is held upon the laterally adjustable shaft by means of the nut 0 The operation of the machine will be readily understood from the foregoing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, inasmuch as one of the belts g g being shifted on to the fixed pulley c the shaft C will be turned and the pinion c thereon being in mesh with the gearwhcel Oon the washing drum B will turn the latter to agitate the clothes or roll them in one direction, and the said drum being geared directly to the bevel-wheel P the latter throughits connections the latter to shift the belts so that the other drive-belt will be moved on to the fixed pulley resulting in the direction of rotation of the drum being reversed, and this reverse motion of the drum will also reverse the rotation of the gearwhcel P and consequently again shift the belts. In this way the drum is revolved first in one direction and then in the other, or in other words given what may be termed an oscillating rotary motion. It will be noted that the connections are such that the oscillating rotary motion will be even and regular, that is the drum will be turned .in either direction the same number of revolutions, inasmuch as the connections between the drum and belt shifter are positive. This of course will give a regular action or agitation to the clothes contained in the drum, so that they will be rolled and unrolled evenly as the drum is oscillated, thereby preventing the clothes from becoming knotted'andtangled.

The construction and arrangement of the washing and after being properly adjusted the operation is entirely automatic to impart to the drum the regular oscillating rotary motion hereinbefore explained.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In awashing machine, the combination, of a drum, ribs secured to the inner side of the body thereof, said ribs comprising a wooden strip next the drum, a metal tube at the outer edge of'the strip, and a bolt holding the tube in place. x

2. In a washing machine, the combination with the drum, of a rib therefor comprising awooden strip next the drum, a bracket supporting said strip having parallel flanges between which the strip fits, a metal tube-bearing against the brackets and the outer edge of the wooden strip, and a bolt passed through'the tube, brackets and heads of the drum and adapted to secure. the strip. brackets and tube to said drum, substantially as shown and described. Q

3 In a washing machine, the combination with the outer casing suitably supported and provided-with hearings in its ends, of an inner rotatable drum journaled in said bearings and having holesin the outer,or cylindrical portion thereon said holes being arranged in longitudinal series'spaced apart, and ribs secured to -the inner side oi! the drum between the series of holes and each comprising a wooden strip next the drum, a metal tube at the outer edge of the strlp','and a bolt passed through the heads of the drum and the tube to hold the latter in place, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. WILLIAM G. CHRYST. Witnesses:

U. H. Sounnn, J. C. Ennuns. 

